


Pete Wentz isn't hurting in this one, so he's the one helping his friend feel better. That almost never happens!

by Late_Dawns_And_Early_Sunsets



Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Just Friends, Male-Female Friendship, Protective Pete Wentz, Self-Harm, Sweet, Very fluffy, affectionate Pete Wentz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26907478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Late_Dawns_And_Early_Sunsets/pseuds/Late_Dawns_And_Early_Sunsets
Summary: Trigger warning/content warning// self harm (mentioned/ talked about, but not described), panic attacksPete and Natalie are best friends (have been for a long ass time, they’re basically dating, but Natalie is gay) and he comes over when she isn’t really expecting him. He’s in her room when she comes out of the bathroom with tears on her face and blood on her shorts/ hoodie sleeves. hurt/ comfort ensues. Set in like early 2000 who the hell cares, nowhere near today.
Relationships: Pete Wentz/Original Female Character(s) (friendship)
Kudos: 2
Collections: Band Oneshots





	Pete Wentz isn't hurting in this one, so he's the one helping his friend feel better. That almost never happens!

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second part to the work I posted earlier, but can definitely be read as a stand alone. The other part is right here if you want to read it too: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26908258

{Pete’s pov}  
\--------  
The sky overhead is cloudy and dark grey, making everything darker than it should be at four in the afternoon. I know it’s going to rain soon and the streets and sidewalk still haven’t dried up since it rained this morning. I text her again as I continue walking, still not getting an answer if I can come over or not. I stand in front of her parent’s house now and she still hasn’t answered me, so I climb in her window anyway because I see her car in the driveway and I know she’s home. 

Her door is open and I see the light under the bathroom door shining off the wood floors of the hallway with the occasional shadow moving through it. I sit down on her bed, assuming she’ll be out in a minute or two, and text Andy while I wait for her. After a while I hear more shuffling and cabinets closing, but it’s definitely been more than 20 minutes since I came in the window. I suddenly look up from my phone when the bathroom door creaks open and light floods the dark hall. She emerges slowly, gasping loudly when she sees me.

“Hey, Nat. You weren’t answering your texts, so I came up anyways and-” I pause, taking a moment to really look at her. Her eyes are red and puffy, glassed over with tears that are leaving trails down her face, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

She shakes her head and brings a sleeve up to wipe at her face, putting on a fake smile. I see the arms are stained a deep crimson color that can only mean one thing. I continue looking over her, seeing her shorts are also laced with the same color on the white trim along the bottom. I feel myself take in a panicked breath as I stand up and walk closer to her. She shrinks back slightly, pressing herself into the doorframe away from me.

“It’s nothing, Pete. I’m all good,” she says, hardly finishing a sentence before a sob falls from her lips. She wraps her arms around her torso and sort of curls into herself, making her look even smaller than she already did. 

“Woah, hey, it’s ok. Come sit down over here sweetie, come here.” I hold my arms open, but she doesn’t move a muscle. I take a small step closer and touch her shoulder gently. At first she tenses against me, but then she uncurls herself and sinks against me. I wrap my arms around her and begin to rub her back as she starts to cry.

“It’s alright, come sit down for me.” She shakes her head and holds tighter to me, burying her head in my neck. Her arms squeeze around my chest, so I rest my hands on the small of her back. “Please? We can talk about it if you want to. I saw your sleeves, Nat, something’s up. You can tell me anything, I mean it." 

She tenses the mention of her sleeves and pulls away from me. She threads her hands in her hair and sits down on the bed, elbows on her knees with her eyes looking at the floor. I lower myself to my knees in front of her and gently place my hand on her knee to get her to look at me. 

"You weren't supposed to come over today. I thought you were going over to Andy's and I- Pete, you weren't supposed to be here." She shakes her head, then timidly meets my eyes and moves her hands out of her hair. “Fuck, I’m sorry. You weren’t supposed to see me like this again. I didn’t want you to find out like this, Pete.”

Everything she’s been holding back crumbles when I place my hand on hers and tangle our fingers together. I feel a frown spread across my face as she folds her arms around herself and sobs, so I move to sit next to her on the bed. 

“It’s alright, Nat, it’s ok.” She leans against me and I easily wrap her in my arms, pulling her close, ”I know I was supposed to be at Andy’s, but his plans changed and he had to cover someone’s shift. I’m sorry, Nat, it’s gonna be alright. Can you tell me what happened?”

“I, well, I started a while ago, maybe a year or two. I didn’t do it alot until recently and I was always so careful, Pete. I didn’t want you to find out and think you could’ve stopped me if you knew because as much as I love you, it wouldn’t matter. I would’ve felt guilty, but I feel guilty either way. Please don’t hate me for this. I just, I don’t know what to do anymore and I’m so tired of hiding,” she says in between shaken breaths and long pauses. I just silently pull her closer and hug her tighter. I start to run my fingers through her hair and she continues, “Today, when I got home, my mom yelled at me for letting the cat out. Now they love that cat and were furious that she got out, but never considered that they let her out and they both said some shit that they won’t remember tomorrow, but I won’t forget it because it’s some of the same shit Madison said to me before she dumped me this morning. I loved her and she treated me like a piece of shit because I’m not enough. She said I've been too distant and she got mad because I didn’t want to sneak out every night and get drunk. I don’t know what I’m gonna do because I’m spiraling and everything feels wrong-” 

“Natalie, babe, I need you to breathe for me, alright? I know that everything feels like it’s going to shit, but it’s going to be ok. You’re having a panic attack, Nat. I know it’s hard, but breathe with me. Listen to my heartbeat and try to follow it’s rhythm,” I say as calmly as I can. She doesn’t try to force herself away from me like I do when someone’s trying to calm me down, so right off the bat it’s easier. I take my hands out of her hair and find hers, bringing one to the side of her neck and the other to the side of mine. “Can you feel that? That’s your pulse and mine. Feel how yours is super fast and mine is slower? That’s because your heart is trying to keep up with your oxygen intake which is trying to keep up with your blood flow and heart. It’s a vicious cycle, but you’re going to be ok.”

She chokes on a breath and presses her fingers harder against me. I feel her hands shaking under mine and know that the adrenaline is starting to wear off. 

“Just listen to my voice and feel my breaths. You’re doing so good, Nats, so good. It’s almost over now. You’re gonna feel really worn out, but I’m not going to let you sleep just yet because it’s only five o’clock and because your breathing could get uneven again and cause another one while you sleep. Those are super hard to deal with and I don’t want that for you. Remember, deep breaths,” I murmur against her hair, right next to her ear. She nods timidly and takes another shaken breath. Her heartbeat is now close to the same rhythm as mine, so I let go of her hands and move my fingers back up to her hair to play with her long purple hair. 

“What am I gonna do? I know it’s not the end of the world, but it feels like it.” I nod my head and smooth down a patch of her hair before breaking away from the embrace. "I know I'm being dramatic, but I don't actually know what I'm going to do without her."

"No, you're not being dramatic. Trust me Nat, there is no way you're being dramatic about this. It's how you feel and you have every right to feel like this because she was your girlfriend for a year. I'm sorry this is happening. You don't deserve any of it." I'm cut off when she starts talking again. 

"But I do! I’m not worth all the trouble she, my parents or even you go through. I lied to you! How could you brush that away? All I ever do is cause problems, Pete.” She brings her hands to her face again and covers her eyes, but I’m quick to ease them away. I brush a piece of her hair away from her eyes then wipe a fresh tear from her cheek. 

“Natalie, listen to me, you didn’t lie to me and you don’t cause problems. I understand why you didn’t tell me, but that doesn’t mean you lied to me. You just didn’t want to tell anyone. It’s alright, I know how it feels,” I say softly. She nods her head and looks down at our legs, “Now, I know it’s a lot to take in right now, but your sleeves are still red and so are your shorts. Is it alright if I make sure you didn’t cut too deep?”

“Alright, sure.” She stands up slowly and moves away from the bed timidly. I can feel the anxiety thrumming in the room, the silence not helping to ease the tension between us. I follow behind her carefully and keep a little bit of distance as we head into the bathroom. I don’t bother to shut the door behind us because her parents won’t be home for quite a while. 

“Did you clean them?” I whisper, afraid to break the silence in the empty room. She shakes her head and sits down on the lid of the toilet, looking down at the floor. “What about band aids? Are they under the sink?”

“Yeah, so is the alcohol and cotton balls,” she responds. I shake my head and open the cabinet, only grabbing the band aids and a cloth. 

“Alcohol isn’t good for fresh cuts. It agitates the forming of scabs and dissolves the forming tissue. Wait until they scab over to use it, until then soap and water is just fine. Can I move your sleeve back?” She nods again as I turn on the sink and let the water warm up a bit. She holds out her arms to me, but doesn’t look up from the floor. As slowly and carefully as I can, I crouch down and roll her sleeves up to her elbow. 

“It’s ok, these don’t look too bad,” I say mostly to calm myself down, “I am a bit more worried about your left arm, though. Hey, it’s ok, it’s alright, Nat. I promise, you’ll be ok.”

“No I won’t. I’ve kept everything from you and I lied when you asked me how I was because I don’t want you to have to deal with my shit and I always fuck everything up! I’m sorry. Pete, I’m so sorry.” I stand up and turn off the water before turning back to her. She shakes her head again and I gently place my hand on her cheek. 

“Natalie, please look at me.” She meets my eyes timidly and hers hold a very familiar fear of abandonment and extreme guilt. I brush my finger through her hair again and lower myself in front of her again. “It’s alright, I’m not going anywhere. You did nothing wrong. I know, sweetie. I know how hard it is to tell people about this. I know how hard it is to open up and be vulnerable because you have no idea how they’ll react, but please understand that I’m not mad at you or disappointed that you didn’t tell me. I promise.”

She nodes, but still looks like she doesn’t believe me, but I move along anyway. I take the now wet and soapy cloth and wring it out over the sink before turning back to her and getting on my knees in front of her. I take her arm again and pause for a second, waiting for her to give me the ‘ok’ to continue. 

“Go ahead,” She says softly, her voice sounding defeated. I run the cloth over her right arm first, being careful not to split the skin anymore that it already is. She winces and makes a pained noise in her throat, so I pull away. “No, it’s ok, keep going.”

“Are you sure?” She nods, so I continue wiping the dried blood on her arm. When it’s clean, I move to her left and she doesn’t sound as pained as before. “I’m just going to dry these off real quick and then move on.” 

I see a scared look cross her face when I meet her eyes again, so I return it with what I hope is a reassuring look. 

“You do know where the other ones are, right? I- Pete, I don’t-” Her breathing is getting quick and shallow, so I step back a bit.

“Nat, I know. It’s alright, It’s ok. I won’t do anything to make you uncomfortable, I promise.” I say softly. She nods and looks up at the ceiling, placing her hand on her leg and sighing shakily. 

“I know you know they’re there, I’m just, I don’t know Pete.” She shakes her head. 

“If you don't want me to see them, that’s fine, I get it. I just need you to promise me that you’ll clean them and put band-aids on them for me.” She meets my eyes again and shakes her head. 

“I can't. Pete, I can't look at them, not after everything. I’m sorry, it’s just too overwhelming. I’m sorry.” She leans her head against my shoulder and I move to wrap my arms around her like before. I feel her shaking slightly against me, but I don’t pull away from her because if she wanted me back, she’d push me there herself. I bring my hands up her shoulders and into her hair and just hold her there without moving. 

“It’s alright, I promise. I understand, Nat. I get it. If you want me to, I’ll do it now and then you won’t have to worry about it again for a couple of days?” I ask, not moving my hand from her hair. She nods against my shoulder, but I don’t move yet, she will when she’s ready. She takes one of my hands away from her shoulder and laces her fingers with mine and squeezes. “I know, babe, I know.”

“Can you do it quickly?” She asks timidly.

“Of course I can, but probably not as quick as you’d like. I still have to be thorough. I’ll do it as quickly as I can though," I say as I run my hand over her shoulder. 

"Ok," she finally says as she pulls away from me and casts her eyes to the ceiling. I reach and grab the cloth again, along with a couple larger band-aids and set them closer to us. 

“Is it both legs or just one?” I ask as I align the supplies to speed along the process.

“Just my right one tonight,” She says in a defeated voice. 

“Ready?” I ask softly. She nods and sucks in a breath, holding it in as I turn my attention to her legs. “Ok, I’m going to move your shorts now. Tell me if you want me to stop, alright?”

She nods again, but slower this time. I place my fingers on her right leg at the bottom hem of her shorts and gently push them up. The five cuts underneath are bright red around and more swollen than her arms. I set to work once more and wipe off the dried blood around the wounds before drying them off and covering them in band-aids. 

“All done. You did amazing, Nats," I murmur as I pull her into another hug. She melts against me and takes a deep breath against my shoulder before mumbling something I can't understand. "What was that?"

"I said, can we go lay down?" Her voice is small, almost like she's afraid I'll say no, but I nod against her and pull back.

"Of course! How about we watch a movie, too?" She smiles and nods, then leans in and kisses my head. 

"You always know exactly what to say, Pete. I'll go make some popcorn, you pick a movie. My laptop is sitting at the top of my bed by the wall. Anything is fine, I'll be right back," she says as we stand up and begin walking back to her room. 

"Ok, don't be too long or I might start it without you!" I call to her as she dashes down the stairs.

"You wouldn't!" She shouts back with a laugh. I sit back down on her bed and open the laptop, pulling up Netflix and browsing through their movies before deciding on 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. 

She reappears up the stairs about three and a half minutes later with a bowl filled to the brim with popcorn and a couple cans of soda. She throws one of them at me before setting the popcorn down and jumping on the bed beside me and leaning against me. 

"Will you do the boa constrictor thing you do?" She asks when I start the movie and reach for the popcorn. 

"Sure. As long as I can still eat all the popcorn," I reply with a laugh. She swats my arm and laughs as well while I move to wrap myself around her. I rest my head on her shoulder and tangle our legs together, squeezing her with my arms around her waist. She lets out a sigh and I know she's comfortable. "Good?"

"Great. Thank you Pete, for everything." I smile again and squeeze her a little bit tighter.

"Anytime, Nat," I say against her neck. We soon turn all of our attention to the gruesome scene playing out on her computer screen, occasionally grabbing pieces of popcorn or making a comment on how the characters could've avoided their doom. She eventually falls silent against me and as the movie comes to an end, I feel her chest expanding evenly under my grip and I relax further. “You pick this time.”

“How about 16 candles?” She asks softly. I nod against her and she clicks. Just as the movie comes to an open, we hear heavy rains begin hitting the window, followed by bright lightning and loud claps of thunder shortly after. The storm outside continues to pick up, but we remain in bed watching movies into late hours of the night, only moving occasionally to get snacks or drinks and I couldn’t ask for anything more.


End file.
